During the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs), multi-step sequences of semiconductor manufacturing processes are performed to gradually form electronic device on semiconductor substrates. One such semiconductor manufacturing process is plasma-based etching. Plasma-based etching is a process by which material is removed from a workpiece by application of chemically reactive plasma to the workpiece and/or by bombardment of the workpiece with plasma particles. Plasma-based etching may be used according a Bosch process to form deep, highly anisotropic holes or trenches, such that plasma-based etching is often used during the manufacture of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices.